Each year in the United States, tens of thousands of people are killed and injured in collisions or mishaps involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, and pedestrians on our nation's roads. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Americans traveled 3.014 trillion vehicle miles in 2006, and 42,642 drivers, passengers, pedestrians and others were killed in accidents involving a motor vehicle that year. Many tens of thousands more were injured in motor vehicle accidents. At Sheftall & Torres, P.A., we have many years of experience in investigating and prosecuting wrongful death and catastrophic injury claims arising from motor vehicle accidents, both domestically in the United States and abroad.

SETTLEMENT: Motor Vehicle Crash Abroad/Wrongful Death. In 2005, Scott Sheftall achieved a confidential $10 million settlement in a case he filed in Miami for the widow and children of a man from Texas, age 37, who was killed as a passenger in a single-vehicle accident while on assignment in a Caribbean country. This is one of the largest wrongful death settlements in Florida history. Mr. Sheftall alleged that an agent of the defendant multi-national corporation was negligent in operating the vehicle he was driving at night, which he caused to run off the road and collide with a tree. Although the decedent was not wearing his seat belt at the time of the accident, Mr. Sheftall and his expert accident reconstruction engineer established that a seatbelt properly worn would not have prevented his fatal injuries. One of the minor children of the decedent was in the process of being adopted at the time of the death, but the adoption had not yet been formalized. Even though applicable laws placed in considerable doubt whether such a child was entitled to recover wrongful death damages, Mr. Sheftall insisted in the negotiation that she be treated the same as her siblings who were natural sons and daughters. As a result, a recovery for the would-be adoptive child was made in the same amount as for her natural siblings for the loss of their father, an outcome that was applauded by the family, the guardian ad litem and the presiding court. In addition to the $2.1 million which Mr. Sheftall recovered for the widow, he procured structured settlements for the children which will produce over $58 million in payouts to them over their lifetimes.

JURY VERDICT: Rollover Injuries in Cayman Islands. In Abrahantes v. Avis Rent-A-Car, Inc., 559 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990), Scott Sheftall ultimately recovered $4.2 million for rollover injuries sustained by his Florida clients in a Jeep CJ-5 single vehicle rollover, which occurred during a vacation in the Cayman Islands. Before trial, Mr. Sheftall turned down the defendant's settlement offer of $10,000. At the trial in Miami, Mr. Sheftall proved that the vehicle was designed so that it would be dangerously unstable in ordinary driving maneuvers. The company that rented the defective vehicle appealed. The appellate court at first reversed and remanded on the basis that Caymanian law should have been applied, instead of Florida law. 517 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). On remand, Mr. Sheftall established that Florida law and Caymanian law were substantially the same on issues of liability, causation and damages. Accordingly, the trial court ruled that no error had occurred in the trial and reinstated the judgment. Avis appealed again. This time the appellate court agreed with Mr. Sheftall and affirmed the judgment with interest. The appellate court also agreed with Mr. Sheftall's argument that the wife's award of $600,000 for loss of her injured husband's companionship and attentions should stand because it was properly decided under Florida law, and not that of the Cayman Islands, which had no interest in defeating such a recovery.

SETTLEMENT: Jeep Rollover/Wrongful Death. In the Taylor case, Scott Sheftall obtained a confidential settlement of $500,000. The decedent's CJ-5 rolled over after becoming unstable in an obstacle avoidance maneuver, killing the driver.

SETTLEMENT: Postal Delivery Vehicle Rollover. In Schoenfeld v. AM General Corp., Scott Sheftall obtained a $350,000 settlement for his client, who sustained a shoulder fracture when the DJ-5 postal delivery vehicle he was driving rolled over in a low speed, J-turn maneuver.